Date: Sun, 10 Mar 2019 21:56:31 +0000
From: lfa4321jonah@outlook.com
Subject: The Boston Tea Party Chapter 7
This is a work of fiction. All characters herein are also fictitious so,
if you think you can identify a character because of some similarity, you
are in error. Some characters have been borrowed, with his kind
permission, from Jacob Lion's story "A Neglected boy". There may be some
references to sexual practices in the text but it will be of a gentle and
loving nature and not remotely pornographic. If you are looking for
pornography, look elsewhere. Some of the characters are minors so , if it
is not legal for you to read this story, please don't. Otherwise, I hope
you will enjoy it. If you wish to send feedback, you can contact me at
lfa4321jonah@outlook.com . There are pictures of some of the characters in
this story on Jacob Lion's website. https://jacoblion.weebly.com/ Please
remember that Nifty is kind enough to publish these stories for our
enjoyment, but the only income is donations. We need to keep this site
going so please consider donating to Nifty at
http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html
The Boston Tea-Party Chapter 7
by Jonah
Easter Sunday dawned un-noticed. Well perhaps somebody noticed it, but I
certainly didn't, and I'm pretty certain Kori didn't. For once Jake was up
first and had showered and dressed before he troubled to wake any of us.
He had dressed uncharacterstically smartly and looked set for Easter
Sunday.
Kori immediately rose and prepared tea for us. Liam and I joined him in
the kitchen. So did Luke. After a cup of tea we all reported to the
stable for chores. Luke worked with Liam on Finley and I took Dusty again.
We exercised the horses simply by leading them since Kori said Jake had
told him to hurry this morning.
Showers were fun as usual, with four of us washing each other. Then
breakfast.
Jake had prepared boiled eggs and toast, the egg shells being dyed blue,
pink or yellow. Then he had a surprise for us. He presented each of us
with a gift-wrapped parcel. Each contained a shirt, a tie, and a pair of
socks. Jake told us that it was traditional to wear three new things on
Easter Sunday. It was time to get ready for Church.
Part of the deal by which Jake had the minibus was that he had to collect
those who couldn't get to Church on their own on Sunday morning. He
delivered us to the Baptist Church and then left to round up his flock. By
the time he returned the Church was more full. Jake said that Church
attendances were always high on Easter Sunday.
Surprisingly the service was not a lot different to the Methodist ones we
were used to, but then those have got more progressive over the years.
Certainly the lusty singing of "Hail the day that sees Him rise" set the
tone. Not all the tunes were so familiar, but we finished with a rousing
one from Handel's "Judas Maccabeus" - "Thine be the glory, Risen,
Conquering Son". I must find out how Americans fix the rooves on their
buildings. That one had to be pretty firmly attached.
Coffee and biscuits after the service lacked the fastidious care of the
home-made fare at Cannon Lane, but the warm greetings and happy, outgoing
people could have been in any Church the world over.
There were plenty of children in the congregation and one small boy of
about eight latched onto me and insisted on telling me all about himself.
His name was Christopher, which his mother never let him shorten to Chris.
He liked to come to Church every Sunday, though his mother hadn't been
since his father died when Christopher was six. Christopher was a lively
and happy little boy, with a sunny disposition, but he was knowledgeable
and bookish in a way that tended to distance him from the other children.
Consequently he felt more comfortable around adults. His fair complexion
and fair hair seemed incongruous in this country setting. Ashfield people
tended to look swarthy to British eyes. I wondered what sort of life a
single parent, only child, who didn't play with other children was likely
to have.
Jake had disappeared, doing his bus-driving, so none of us was going
anywhere till he came back. When he did come back he greeted my little
friend.
"Hi Chris. Have you had a good morning?"
"You're not supposed to call me that."
"I know. Why do you think I did? Want a lift home?"
Christopher nodded. I took his little hand and led him out to the
minibus. We all climbed in in the usual fashion with Jonah, Luke and Jake
in the front and the rest of us sat behind with Christopher on my lap.
Jake drove to a trailer park just outside town and parked up. He let
Christopher out and then accompanied him to a dilapidated looking trailer.
The two American boys watched but said nothing. I could see the sadness in
Kori's eyes. When Jake climbed back in and drove off the silence could
easily have been cut with a knife. It was some time before the cheery
atmosphere returned.
I learnt later that Kori had been brought up by his mother in a trailer
just like that one, on that very trailer park, and Liam had been abused by
his foster parents in a simlar one, just down the road. There was no
telling whether they felt sad for Christopher or were reliving their own
memories, but I could guess. I had never known either of them feel sorry
for themselves - only for others.
Back at Jake's house the Professor had made sandwiches and then Jake
suggested we get out the sleigh, since the horses hadn't been exercised a
great deal. He cautioned us not to spoil our best clothes since we were
all going to Mr. Ito's for Dinner.
Well it was a pleasant day, not overwarm, but pleasant still. Jake said
Finley had grown enough for Kori to ride but, since he was the youngest of
the three, he was Ideal for Liam. Then Jake had Luke climb on him and took
him round the paddock on the leading rein. We kept the horses busy for an
hour or two like that until Jake said it was time to get ready to go
out. The sleigh was put away, the horses were too. Then we were all in the
minibus.
Mr Ito lived in a bungalow, which tended to sprawl. There were plenty of
rooms, including one for each boy and one for instruments. He greeted us
as you might expect a king to do, Garret and Riku were perfect hosts - that
is until Riku tried showing Pete where his bedroom was. Pete came back
some minutes later looking decidedly pleased with himself. Riku followed
looking less so. I couldn't resist.
"How's your karate Riku?" I asked.
He looked blank.
"I have not long started," he replied. "I have only the white belt"
"Peter's a black belt", I said, "and he put a boy in hospital recently.
Just thought you ought to know".
Suddenly a wicked smile lit his face up.
"What belt have you?" he said cheekily.
I thought quickly.
"If you're thinking of taking me to your bedroom to find out, you might not
be up to it". I replied.
"You are afraid I might learn something that you not want me to?"
"Riku, you have a reputation. There's more danger that I might learn
something but I shall be watching Luke, and Sammy has a bad back. If you
try anything with him you'll put him in hospital".
"Ah, you English are no fun" he complained.
"Not just the English Riku", I told him. "You only want us because all the
Americans around here are wise to you".
He grinned that wicked grin again.
Soon dinner was ready. We all trooped into the dining room and were
confronted with an amazing array of Japanese fare. The dining table had
been set out for dining but the counter and a long table in front of it
were almost bowed under the weight of food upon them. Garret set about
explaining what each of the dishes were, and everybody loaded their plate
with whatever they wanted. Everybody ate their fill. After the meal
Garret and Riku commenced washing up and Mr Ito ushered us all through to
the main room where, beside the baby grand piano, the cello and violin were
set out.
Garret and Riku had put together a fairly comprehensive programme of
instrumental work which showed off the talents of these two boys.
Listening to Riku play it was difficult to remember that he was supposed to
be the devil incarnate. That was because he wasn't. He was a teenage boy
with the urges that teenage boys have, and the propensity for getting
himself into trouble that all little boys have. He was also cute as all
never mind and, who knows, but I might have been tempted? He was almost my
age, though much smaller, and only the thought of hurting Kori was holding
me back.
Riku performed a neat, and very confident, rendition of Beethoven's
Moonlight Sonata on the piano and then picked up his violin to give us a
tune which I didn't recognise, but Jonah obviously did, and found it highly
amusing. Riku appeared to find it amusing too. It involved some sweeping
bow-work, interspersed with pizzicato phrases, and Jonah later explained
that Riku had obviously scored a song from the Mikado, by Gilbert and
Sullivan, for the violin. Somebody must have tipped Riku off that Jonah
likes Gilbert and Sullivan. Apart from his skilled playing Riku is
obviously well up on musical theory because I recognised the next piece
that he and Garret played. It was Saint Saens' "Danse Macabre" which I
know for a fact was not written for violin and cello. It certainly sounded
as if it had been though, which suggests that someone had written a very
good arrangement, and that wouldn't have been Garret. The next piece
involved Riku going back to the piano for a more traditional piano/cello
piece. It was Saint Saens again, this time "The Swan" from the "Carnival of
the Animals". The finale was a vocal duet which Riku accompanied on the
piano. It was Rossini's "The Cats", and it brought the house down. There
was tumultuous applause and cries of "Encore!" which, I was surprised to
discover, the boys were ready for. Riku returned to the piano and Garret
pulled up a chair next to it and threw a blanket across his legs. We
immediately knew what was about to happen and Jonah and I both burst out
laughing before Riku even played a note. If Garret had only grown a beard
they would have looked so much like Michael Flanders and Donald Swann. Sure
enough they launched into Flanders and Swann's "The Hippopotamus Song" and
there was an instant cheer. Garret sang the verses and they both sang the
chorus and then Garret invited everybody to sing the final chorus (as if we
hadn't been singing the choruses all along). "Mud, mud, glorious mud;
Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood; So follow me follow, Down to
the hollow, And there let us wallow in glorious mud:"
Well after that the boys were entitled to look pleased with themselves, and
Mr. Ito looked very proud too. I think if Riku had tried to take me back
to his bedroom at that moment I would have been powerless to resist, but
Jake was already making noises about rounding up his party. All too soon
we were thanking our hosts and climbing into the minibus.
It was a tired but happy crew who climbed into various beds that night, but
I was convinced that they wouldn't be in various beds by the morning.
TO BE CONTINUED
If you have enjoyed this story you will probably enjoy previous stories by
the same author on Nifty's Gay Adult/Youth Archive. Letter from America,
Stranger on a Train, Marooned, also The Pen-Pals, on the Gay Young Friends
site. For a much longer story by a different author, I would recommend A
Neglected Boy, by Jacob Lion. I'd like to thank Jacob for his help in
writing this. I couldn't have done it on my own.
The Boston Tea Party - Dramatis Personae: PROFESSOR EDWARD ALVES: Mentor of
Jake at Yale University (and at one time of Jonah at Cambridge). Known to
Jonah and his boys as "The Professor", AIRLINE CAPTAIN: AIRLINE FIRST
OFFICER: BAPTIST PASTOR, NEIL CRAWFORD: Neighbour and former schoolfriend
of Jake, JONAH CUMMINGS: Graphic artist from Harrow, England. Foster
parent of Luke and guardian of Simon and Pete, LUKE CUMMINGS:Ten year old
foster son of Jonah, IAN DAHLQUIST: Student of the Professor. HON LI:
Brother of Ning Chunhua and uncle to Ning, GARRET ITO: Sixteen year old
friend of Jake, Kori and Liam. Son of Yori. Mixed Japanese/Chinese blood,
RIKU ITO: Thirteen year old cousin of Garret and nephew of Yori. Japanese,
YORI ITO: Japanese father of Garret and uncle and guardian to Riku, ABE
JONES: Railway volunteer at Scranton, KEVIN: Swim instructor at the
Clarion, PETER KHAN: Nine year old brother of Simon,and ward of Jonah.
Simon generally calls him Pete, SIMON KHAN: Thirteen year old orphan; Ward
of Jonah, KYLE, JUSTIN, KENT,ARRON & CODY: Boys in Kevin's swim team,
DEPUTY BOB MORGAN: Ashfield Deputy attached to Northampton MA sherriff's
dept. , NING BAO: Eight year old Chinese friend of Liam. Generally known as
Ning, NING CHUNHUA: Ning's mother, sometimes known as Mrs. Ning,CHRISTOPHER
PLOVER: Eight year old attendee of Ashfield Baptist Church, MRS. JOAN
PLOVER: Mother of Christopher, SAMMY PORTER: Ten year old friend of Pete.
Still recovering from a serious back injury, KORI PREYDON: Orphaned Twelve
year old ward of Jake, MR. PRINCE: Vice principle of the school attended by
Liam and Ning, and Jake's superior, JAKE ROBERTS: School-teacher of
Ashfield Massachusets. Foster parent of Liam and guardian of Kori, LIAM
ROBERTS: Orphaned ten year old foster son of Jake, MRS. ROBINSON: Peter's
mother, PETER ROBINSON: 12 year old schoolfriend of Kori, with a crush on
Neil, MR. WUTHERALL: Owner of general store in Ashfield,